


Butterflies Are Self-Propelled Flowers

by iris_14cheonsa



Series: dancing particles of light [6]
Category: Kamen Rider Amazons (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-07-17 06:05:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16089602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iris_14cheonsa/pseuds/iris_14cheonsa
Summary: You don't need to be human to want the unobtainable. - (a collection of Kamen Rider Amazons one-shots)





	1. What Do You Eat to Live

**Author's Note:**

> A canon-divergence where Haruka and Mizuki aren't siblings because I didn't agree with the "reveal" that they're related + it's a really minor point in the story. At least, that's how I interpret it.  
> Please keep any discourse in private discussions, as opposed to public platforms. All I can say is that it wasn't easy for me to come down to pursuing my personal interpretation this openly.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whether it was his fate to kill or be the one killed, Haruka still wanted a human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Date written: ?  
> Author's Note - This has been sitting in my drafts for a while, though getting together an actual chapter was so hard; especially since 1) this takes place in a canon divergence where Haruka's human DNA is from Iyu Hoshino's father (somehow I feel like that would be more interesting), making him the /former/ adopted brother of Mizuki and 2) there is no content for the ship, so I have to make it myself  
> The title and summary were inspired by the lyrics to the opening of the first season  
> Only 807 words long, to my disappointment, but at least it's as short as the series itself

He wanted a human.

Haruka had never tasted human flesh nor did he crave it. The mere thought of ripping someone’s limbs apart with _his_ hands and _his_ teeth for the sake of his appetite had him gagging, a hand pressed to the mouth. “You definitely left proof of that,” Jin had laughed all those years ago, fingers pinching his nose. “Now we’ll get some good fertilizer.”

What he wanted though was a human.

He was made from the genes of Iyu’s father but he never learned about his “father” until two years after he had left Chihiro and Iyu’s armlets, bloody and wrenched from their skin, onto a white sheet. Perhaps that was why he couldn’t kill humans, not at all, even when he claimed that he had abandoned them when the heavens poured a bountiful of rain.

But he didn’t want Reika and Haruka knew in his bones that his _former_ adoptive mother was disappointed with the fact. She revelled in pride when she talked about him, made exceptions for his behalf, did what she could to suppress his wilder side. Even five years down the line, when Nozama Pharmacy went bankrupt and Reika went into hiding, she still held him above anything she did against the Amazons. She did anything and everything for him but –

He wanted her daughter.

He had abandoned humanity, maybe even Amazons, and yet he wanted Mizuki. He wanted to run up to Mizuki and tell her everything, to see her smile, to protect her from any vermin who dared lay their hunger on her, to turn around and apologize for how harshly he treated her. Once he had contemplated abandoning the life of a fighter – but it was too ingrained into his bones – to show her he was human _just like her_ , maybe try to press his lips on her temple like she did once. Out of all the dark, horrid actions he witnessed and took part in, it stood out as one of the few bright memories in his life.

Maybe his longing was the reason Reika didn’t seem concerned for Mizuki, even though the latter confessed one night that it’s been like this since she could remember. The thought of Mizuki not being loved, left alone as her mother worked on cells and managerial skills and flow charts; not being _stopped_ from becoming someone who could get eaten hunting Amazons – shouldn’t he be protecting her? But those assumptions were based around the Mizuki who lost all the feeling in her legs as an Amazon could’ve eaten her. Mizuki was now twenty two and walked with the confidence she had to sticking to her decisions. It was the one thing she had inherited from Reika and frankly, it was one of the three things Haruka was thankful for. The first was conceiving the idea of bringing him into the world; the second was giving Mizuki life. Everything else, he flushed down and pressed it between the disasters that happened to his kind.

He wanted Mizuki.

Haruka couldn’t understand _why_ he wanted her. He could live without her (as long as she was alive) and he could fight without her (by making sure nothing fatal struck her). No one taught him about the nuanced concepts of humanity. Had things been different, he would’ve asked the remaining NSP members or even Jin, but the latter had no interest in helping him barring the destruction of Amazons. “Maybe it’s love,” Jin mockingly said, swaying side to side. “I loved Nanaha with everything in here” – he patted his chest – “but in the end, she left me. I’ll find her though, even if I don’t intend on letting _any_ Amazons escaping. Not me or you.”

Soon after the battle, as he washed his bloody hands in a nearby creek, Haruka stopped to carefully press his hand against his chest. He could detect the beating of a heart (was it a human’s or an Amazon’s), steady and pulsing like footsteps on the forest floor. Haruka could only frown, drawing himself to his feet. “What does this have to do with anything?”

He wanted Mizuki.

Maybe when everything was over, he’ll go back to her. Mamoru had perished; all the original Amazons died; the new Amazons were only mindless monsters. In theory, it should be over. But it wasn’t – there were still Amazons out there and Jin was bound to get his hands around Haruka’s throat one day. Something within Haruka told him it wouldn’t be over until he was dead. Hopefully that would happen out in the open (he had enough closed spaces for a lifetime), on a beautiful day and being lulled to sleep by someone telling him “you did well. Now rest.”

He wanted Mizuki.

The chances of him dying by her hand were slim but he wanted to be optimistic again.


	2. Crushed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mizuki learns she wants to go with Haruka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Date written: ? 2018 - 14 October 2018  
> Author's Note - I think it took me…a couple of weeks to get coherent on this. I think. Well, Amazons is a very angst ridden show that the only OTP that will ever make me content and feel fluffy (sorta) is Haruka/Mizuki because sheesh, every single time he just says “Mizuki” and you know all the aggression just melts away from Haruka fdkhshks their parallel with Jin/Nanaha is why I cropped Rika’s statement out of my head and still did a canon divergence  
> I’ll never forgive Kobayashi-san for her bittersweet endings, especially with season one of this stupid series, since that’s the only time in the whole series that Haruka actively yelled at Mizuki and you can see how hurt she is and how ugh it is to Haruka because look, five years later and he still tries to save her at the very least despite his back on humanity

Tranquillity; a word Mizuki hadn’t used ever since Haruka had presumably disappeared on a hospital trip, came to mind. Squinting her eyes at the sunlight pouring through the transparent curtains, Mizuki blearily stirred on the bed. The curtains were useless, she thought, but they at least provided some protection against the new breed of Amazons. They were savage and more vicious, she knew, and lacked severely in intelligence and senses. They only knew how to eat humans. Curtains were more than enough to impede their vision.

Mizuki sighed and turned around, still clutching the warm blankets about her frame.

“Mizuki.” Blinking, Mizuki focused on the figure sitting against the wall. Haruka. He only had jeans on, largely due to the white bandages strapped around his shoulders and mid-section, leaving his skin bare. But it seemed the cold air in the house barely deterred him, because he was smiling despite all the years that had passed and called her name with the same innocence he used to have. “Good morning.”

“Haruka.” Mizuki instinctively looked under the blankets to see she was still clothed, though only in a white tank top. She probably had the other half of her uniform on, judging by the uncomfortable sensation of fabric against her sweaty legs. “Good morning,” she replied uncertainly.

He smiled again. “There was only one bed here. I thought you needed it. The floor wasn’t too bad,” he said, standing to his feet. He winced, testing his muscles for any strains and pulls. “I think my body’s all healed up too.” With that, he ripped off the bandages with ease, letting the cloth drop to the floor.

Mizuki would have looked away, had she still been seventeen and thought she could remain in an aquarium of her own as long as Haruka was there. But it’s been five years and, frankly, time changed a person. The Haruka she thought she knew was now a young man, pulling out a thin shirt and standing with confidence. Mizuki wanted to believe she changed too, since she held a gun and wore a uniform nowadays, but any pretence she had shattered the moment he called her name as if it was important. Actually, Haruka’s presence in general affected her. She wondered if that was the same with him.

Mizuki followed the lines of his ribs, noticing how he didn’t have as many scars as she thought he would. His healing factor probably contributed to it.

Tugging on his shirt, he noticed her stares and smiled languidly. If she squinted, it’d be like the days he was the first person she saw in the mornings before school and the last after she finished her homework and was about to go to bed. “Mizuki. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know if I should be,” she said testily, sitting up on the bed. She made sure the blankets were still tucked around her because she may not be naked but still, no man has ever seen her in this state of undress. “What happened?”

“4C,” he replied simply, reaching down to pick up the bandages stained with his blood. “We’re on the run.”

“We – ” Now she remembered. He had pressed the scattershot against his chest, telling her to shoot with blood soaking into his skin. No matter how many times Mizuki told her she had been waiting to kill him herself…she couldn’t. But this time, she didn’t let him run away.

 

* * *

 

“I’m going with you,” she had proclaimed after pocketing the scattershot. It could come in handy later, if Haruka ever decided Jin needed to be exterminated.

“Going with – ” Haruka’s brow crinkled in the way she knew he disagreed. He was far too concerned with her safety, as if she was the same girl who whimpered when an Amazon attempted to devour her right in front of him. But she wasn’t; well, not completely but she could stand her ground now. “Mizuki, I can’t – ”

“But you can,” Mizuki pressed, stepping forward. “You know better than anyone that Mother doesn’t care for me.” Haruka lowered his head somewhat and she winced. That wasn’t what she intended, despite the truth in the implications. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that – ”

“I know. But I can’t,” he said again, looking at Mizuki with the same conviction from five years ago, when he whisked Mamoru away instead of her. _Don’t say it again_. “I’m an Amazon.”

“I know you are. Why did I tell you all those things in the first place when you came back?” Mizuki blinked furiously. She wasn’t going to cry again, not when there was any rain to drown out her cries.

“You’re – ”

“A human, I know, and I won’t understand why you don’t think eating humans is a bad thing. Because I’m human, of course I wouldn’t want to eat my own kind,” she recited the words he had bit back at her all those years ago because it _hurt_ , even now, to think he’d see her as someone who wouldn’t understand him. And she wanted to; hence why she left university to hunt Amazons instead. “But I don’t care. I know _you_ won’t eat humans.”

Haruka blinked and Mizuki knew she got him. The other Amazons may eat humans – even _Jin_ ate Amazon remains, to her absolute disgust – but Haruka only ate what humans ate. He had shown her a _hamburger_ as the only food he needed, for Pete’s sake, and Nanaha had told her he vomited decently into her compost pit when Jin mentioned the subject. Perhaps he was going to awaken in the future but something within Mizuki just told her it wouldn’t. Haruka would either live, having never tasted human flesh, or die before he awakened.

“That’s why I’m telling you to take me. Kidnap me, if you have to.” Mizuki reached forward to touch his arm and this time, Haruka didn’t grab her wrist to stop her and jump back into a van. “But I’m not going to wonder to myself for another five years if you got killed by Jin, by 4C, by anyone. This time, if you’re going to die…” she swallowed. “I’m staying right with you.”

“But…” Haruka held her wrist with the same, almost desperate longing look he’d worn for several seconds five years back. He wanted her to come as much as she did; maybe even more. Who knew how lonely it was to have friends who all fell victim to their awakening or were targeted as vermin. “It’ll be dangerous.”

“I’ve almost been eaten by an Amazon and almost got impaled three times if it weren’t for you.” Mizuki stared up at him determinedly. “I don’t see anything that’ll hold me back.”

Haruka sighed and bit his lip, but not for long. He peered up at her from under his lashes and gave an awkward, almost goofy grin. Mizuki relaxed her hold on his arm and smiled; her first in forever. He was taking her; kidnapping her; whatever he wanted to call it. She wasn’t being picky. “Then…” Haruka lowered her hand and slid his hand down so their fingers were entwined. “Let’s go. Mizuki.”

 

* * *

 

“Right,” she said sheepishly, relaxing her arms. “Sorry. I forgot.”

“That’s fine.” Haruka smiled again in understanding. “We did travel quite far from Tokyo. You were really tired by the time we got here.”

“How far?” Mizuki asked, searching around for her jacket.

“Not quite sure, but it’s definitely someplace where 4C has no security over.” Haruka bent down to rummage a bit in a small drawer. He took out a folded bundle – her jacket – and carefully deposited it onto the bed. “It’ll take them weeks to find us, now that they don’t have any…well, Amazons on their team. They’re not as skilled as Shido-san and his team are.”

“That’s true…” To be truthful, Mizuki didn’t know how Shido-san had operated in his battles. But judging by the small number of mercenaries that survived compared to the large number of soldiers which got slaughtered every other week, it was saying something. She reached over for the jacket and tugged it on. “I wonder if they’ll assist us, if we ever run into them.”

“Probably, though given what happened to Mamoru-kun…” Haruka stopped and lowered his head. “I’m not sure anymore. But,” Haruka fixed his usual smile – for her – on his lips, “I’ll do my best to protect you, Mizuki.”

She couldn’t make good on her word and Haruka was so much stronger than Mizuki could ever be. But this time, she wanted to die trying. Mizuki focused on zipping up her jacket, now worn and tattered from the excessive bloodbath she’d undergone in the past few months alone. Maybe if they went into a new town, she’ll get a new set of clothes that were practical but didn’t distinguish her like the uniform did. “I’ll do my best to protect you too, Haruka.”

He lowered his eyes – embarrassed, flustered and happy all in one, she at least knew that – and chuckled. “Thanks.”


	3. Shards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haruka learns that someone will wait for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Date written: 18 October - 15 November 2018  
> Author's Note - I'd advise that for those who have not watched the "Kamen Rider Amazons: Final Judgement" movie and wish to read this, please turn away because this chapter may contain some spoilers  
> Short chapter, kinda anti-climax...and they say each other's names a lot. I could delve into how canon makes the dialogue between these two often start with each other's names and that they pause for a moment afterwards before continuing, I still question Toei for having dropped that line in the season one finale.

It has been a long time since Haruka was home.

 _Home_.

A strange yet pleasant flutter started to drum in his chest. Surely this couldn't be his home; he distinctly remembered how big his first home was, except Haruka had a whole floor to himself and glass walls separating him from the rest of the house and the world. Haruka frowned at the memories, pushing them aside as he strode forward and pushed the grand oak doors open with ease.

Just like he remembered it, sunlight streamed through the intricate frames covering the windows above the staircase. The mansion was obviously much larger than Haruka's first home - it even had its own grounds, as opposed to the city where gates and fences kept the house locked in and Haruka as well. But despite how his footsteps made long, echoing taps through the air, the mansion didn't instill a sense of dread or loneliness into him. It felt peaceful, almost holy, even for an Amazon like himself, and so light and  _free_. He knew he could roam anywhere he wanted in this place. Haruka cracked a smile.

(He pointedly kept his eyes away from the traces of dried blood staining the wooden floor)

It was oddly quiet though, Haruka had to admit. The last time he had seen Mizuki was through a window; her promise of waiting for him was only the delusions playing in his mind to tame the guilt of killing Jin. But somehow, the illusion of Mizuki standing on the shore without a limp, kind and understanding as she reminded him he protected everyone...it seemed like something Mizuki would say, had she been there. Perhaps that's what he  _hoped_ she would say, even though he shed so much blood on his hands.

 _Thud_.

Haruka jerked his head, a hand automatically placing itself on his brown satchel. Instincts and experience said it was best to pull out the belt at a moment's notice.

A couple more thuds - footsteps - made their way across the floor above Haruka. Maybe there was a reason for the silence. Perhaps another Amazon (the brutal, nasty kind) had hurt the children behind closed doors. He shouldn't be so negative yet  _experience_ taught Haruka to be prepared for the worst. The last time he thought he'd find sanctuary, Haruka held the hands of a dying Amazon, screaming at himself while devouring her flesh. He started to rummage for the belt.

"Haruka."

Instead of an Amazon baring its teeth or a human trying to gun him down, it was Mizuki standing at the top of the stairs. A little older and a colourful shawl was wrapped around her shoulders, but it was her.

"Mizuki." Saying her name and pausing straight afterwards, isolating it from other sentences, would be a verbal habit Haruka would carry until he died. He could never seem to get rid of it. Before saying anything more, Haruka ran his eyes along the line of her leg (he swallowed at the memory of  _how_ it had been weakened), saw how her hair brushed past her shoulders, and then to Mizuki herself. "It's been a long time."

"Haruka." As if in a trance, Mizuki tried to go down the stairs, which proved futile as her limp made her miss a step and almost tumble down the stairs. Almost. Haruka had also run forward, dropping his bag in the process, and quickly steadied her. Even when Mizuki managed to pull herself upright, towering over him somewhat due to the stairs, Haruka didn't take his eyes or hands off her.

 _Two years_. It had been two years; shorter than the last time he left her and humanity, but two years was still a long time. Haruka was older; Mizuki was older. He still didn't have all the answers to his questions; Mizuki had found her place in an isolated location. He trimmed his hair to keep it neat and easy to maintain; Mizuki grew out her hair. Not everything changed but Haruka still wondered if this was his life - trying to wander and supposedly find himself, only to be back with Mizuki again, whether or not she waited for him.

He wasn't against the idea of seeing her - being _with_ her - though.

"Welcome home, Haruka," Mizuki said breathlessly, like she couldn't imagine he was here - at  _home_ \- and not somewhere else. Her hands pulled at the fabric of his jacket, drawing it tighter around the elbows. "Everyone will be pleased to see you."

Haruka carefully looked around, as if on cue a stream of children would clamour out of the doors. Were they still wearing their white robes?

"The children are out shopping in the village," Mizuki stated like she read his mind. "We were thinking about trying some Western food, for a change."

 _So they weren't being hunted._ Haruka relaxed his hold on her arms. "That's nice," he sincerely replied.

"It is." She continued to gaze up at him, pressing her lips together. "You...will stay for dinner, right?"

 _Dinner_. Speaking of which, he hadn't eaten anything save a boiled egg for breakfast.

Haruka broke into a small smile. "Dinner sounds good."


End file.
